Tinley Park H.S. teacher accused of having sex with student

A Tinley Park High School teacher and coach has been charged with having sex with a female student, authorities said.

Ryan W. Dolan, 29, of Tinley Park, is charged with two counts of felony criminal sexual assault. He appeared via closed-circuit television Monday afternoon in Will County Circuit Court, where a judge set his bail at $250,000.

Prosecutors allege that Dolan had sexual contact with a student under the age of 18 on Friday. He was charged Saturday, and prosecutors said police also are investigating him regarding allegations of child pornography.

Conditions of Dolan’s bail include having no contact with the victim or anyone else under 18 without a parent present and staying away from the high school.

Dolan is a history teacher, the varsity wrestling coach and an assistant football coach, and has been at the school since 2008.

Bremen High School District 228 Supt. Bill Kendall attended Monday’s court hearing and said Dolan is suspended with pay while the district does its own investigation. The District 228 school board could take action against Dolan at its March 18 meeting, Kendall said.

He said he found out about the arrest Saturday morning from the school’s principal and was shocked by the news. Kendall said Dolan had a “clean record” and was respected by faculty and students.

“It’s a very difficult time,” he said. “Our thoughts are with our students.”

Parents were to be notified by phone of Dolan’s arrest.

The school’s principal, Theresa Nolan, said “everybody is completely shocked by this. And to be honest with you, the shock is indescribable. ... Nobody, there isn’t anybody that has worked with him, that is friends with him, that ever saw this coming.

“We basically have our crisis support team in place, and we’re trying to get back to business as usual,” she said. “If kids need that extra support, we’re ready for it. Sometimes business as usual is the best way to get through something like this. ... We have to take care of our kids. That’s our No. 1 priority.”

Homewood-Flossmoor High School wrestling coach Brett Geijer, a 1991 graduate of Tinley Park High who wrestled there, said he was “dumbfounded” by Ryan’s arrest.

“He was a good guy, he was good with the kids. He did what he needed to do as a coach,” Geijer said. “There was never any suspicion or anything of that nature. ... He was a good (coach). He got the best out of his kids.”

Oak Forest wrestling coach Shawn Forst said he was stunned when he first heard of Ryan being charged.

“When I first heard people talking about it, I was like, ‘hey, don’t spread rumors about things like that. It’s not OK.’ And sure enough, I found out later that it wasn’t a rumor,” Forst said. “He was well-liked by parents, by other coaches, very respectable. ... I couldn’t imagine anybody not being in shock.”